A Bay Minette man was sentenced on Jan. 24, to 25 months in prison for his illegal possession of ammunition after a prior federal conviction for being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Cornelius Jeremiah Pruitt, 26, was convicted in federal court in 2019 for being a drug user in possession of firearms. Pruitt had been released from custody and was serving a three-year term of supervised release when the United States probation officer assigned to supervise Pruitt discovered that he was illegally in possession of ammunition. Pruitt was indicted on the new federal charge of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and he pled guilty to that charge in October of 2021.

United States District Court Judge Kristi K. Dubose imposed the 25-month sentence, which consisted of 15 months on the new charge to run consecutively to 10 months imprisonment for the violation of his supervised release conditions. As conditions of his supervision, Pruitt will undergo testing and treatment for drug abuse, and he will be subject to a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion. No fine was imposed but the judge ordered that Pruitt pay $100 in special assessments. The ammunition Pruitt illegally possessed was ordered forfeited to the United States.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.